Jessie Bell's Soul Food Restaurant

My friends and I always meet once a week for lunch together and this time we tried Jessie Bell's. Two of us ordered fried chicken and one of us ordered the wings and we got fish too. We all were super happy with what we ate. The chicken is fried fresh each time you order that. They don't want it sitting and getting cold or sitting under the heat lamp so that's why it's cooked to order. There's plenty of parking and they are closed only on Wednesday's. The hours are split during the day and closed for a couple of hours between lunch and dinner, so check their hours online before you go. The staff is amazing and friendly. This is one hometown spot that I would recommend. Their food is excellent.

Always a good eat for my family. I'm vegan but I always stop by when I'm in town and grab plates for my parents. They love the food and I love safe, joyful, pleasant atmosphere and service. Sometimes the food is made to order so it may take about 15 minutes to get your plate but that's a worthwhile wait. Sorry, these pics I took don't serve to their presentation.

Great steaks and the best salad bar in Kinston - hands down. Even if you just want a salad this is the place to get it. Meals are always fresh and hot and the service is great too.

We decided to stop here on our way back to Durham for a bite to eat. The were really good reviews so we were very excited to try their food. We wanted turkey wings but they were sold out of the wings with gravy and the BBQ turkey wings therefore I had the beef tips with rice and gravy, with yams and cabbage as my sides, my friend had the beef liver with squash and yams. The portions were great and the food was delicious! The cabbage were sweet, which is not something I like. The squash was very good! Overall this is a place worth visiting. I definitely will return on my next trip down east when I want some good soul food!

Best soul food I have ever had. I got the fried chicken, black eyed peas and yams. You can tell it's all made from scratch and the owner is the sweetest lady. I will be back.

A great comfort food restaurant. It is cafeteria style, with daily specials. They have plenty of sides to choose from. I had meatloaf with mac and cheese and cabbage. Everything was great. I can't wait to go back.

Omg this place is like my grandma cooking everything is made to order all the sides are wonderful i will be back alot. 10 star's

I ordered pig feet for lunch and Mac and cheese and cabbage. Overall, one to ten, I give it a twenty. The food was the best. The chicken is fried upon request. What I didn't like was the bathroom need drastic repairs as the door was rusting but the bathroom was clean. The outside windows on the restaurant needs advertising as the place looks abandoned from the outside and the soul food sign looks homemade. I also notice very few locals of a different culture eating there. Soul food is a cuisine because the food taste good not because you have soul in you, but for some reason the business is not attracting the culture locals. We went during lunch time and the place was empty. Shocked because there should have been a flood oF people out the door.I love neck bones and I love pig feat but the average person is not going to eat that for lunch, that's a dinner meal or a Sunday meal. Also, 20 minutes to cook chicken will not attract luncheoneers as they have only 30 minutes to pick up or an hour to eat.My take is1. The owners have very little marketing experience2. The owners don't have investors to help turn the business around3. The owners may feel it's their way or the highway and reject listening to others ideas even their customers.I could be wrong but this is a fabulous restaurant with delicious food. However something great is missing in the infra structureBy all means go there, the place is clean, warm and cozy and the staff is kind and the food is good.Second and third visit with others. We are honest food critics! Never any pun tended..Chicken and dumpling: the best I ever tasted!Fried Trout. texture and portion good but I tasted no seasoning on the fish. If seasoned, I would buy it every time they have it. I had to add salt and pepper to the fish and it still wasn't seasoned. It tasted very bland, not soul food to me.Barbecue turkey: turkey not seasoned good but smothered in BBC sauce. I felt like I was tasting more sauce than good tasting turkey. I would not order again.Okra: not good,too many onions.Yams: didn't taste homemade but were good. However, you could tell they were can yams, again not expected of soul food.Cabbage: fabulousMac cheese: good and firm with cheese topping, but needs to be more creamy, it was too firm, it looked like a Mac cake rather than creamy mac and cheese. Potato salad, ok but a little too sweetChicken wings: texture great, crisp but again no seasoning, it wasn't finger licking good. I wouldn't order again, it didn't taste like home cooked fried chicken. It was chicken cooked right but batter had no kick to it, plain tasted and again I had to had salt and hot sauce and it didn't make a differenceMajor improvements: you can now see through the windows and see inside the restaurant. The building looks open for business, before it appeared as if they were close for the season as their windows looked coated or dark. You can even see people eating through the windows which is great for those looking to see activity before stopping.Further suggestions. Have a sample tasting day on your busiest day and offer very smallllll portions and ask to rate. 1= need more seasoning and 2= best taste ever..if they don't say 2 you must reinvent that dish..just saying..Just because a dish looks good doesn't mean it taste good. Get feedback from customers and your restaurant will be the most talked about in town.

Jessie Bell's is the best soul food in Kinston! We were in town for a family funeral and we had a lot of people to feed. Jessie Bell's closed early and the manager and staff accommodate us. They dropped fried pork chops, chicken, fish and hush puppies fresh on the spot for us. They gave us macaroni and cheese, butter beans, black eyed peas, cole slaw and potato salad. The food was so good and reasonable. We were so grateful tothe mess Jessie Bell's staff for meeting willing to take care of our family during this difficult time. I 100% recommend this as a soul food restaurant in or near Kinston.

This restaurant is a great soul food place and you can dine in or take out. The staff is super friendly and the food is some of the best around town. I had the fried chicken the last time I went in and even though I had to wait it was so worth it! They cook the chicken when you order it so it's fresh. It's a must try in Kinston!